Choosing the right software for your company is one of the most critical strategic decisions. It fundamentally impacts operational efficiency, costs, and the ability to innovate. The two dominant philosophies are buying ready-made Off-the-Shelf (COTS/SaaS) software or building your own system from scratch (Custom Development). Neither approach is universally 'better'—the choice depends entirely on your business goals and unique processes.
Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS/SaaS) is the approach where you buy a license or subscription for a ready-made tool (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, SAP). The pros? Instant deployment and predictable costs (usually a monthly fee). The cons? You are forced to adapt your processes to the tool, not the other way around. Plus, there's the risk of 'vendor lock-in' and limited customization options.
Custom Development involves building a 'tailor-made' application from the ground up, perfectly reflecting your processes. The pros? Full control, unique features that build a competitive advantage, and no licensing fees. The cons? Significantly higher initial cost, longer deployment time, and full responsibility for maintenance, security, and system development.
Off-the-shelf software: when speed wins?
While building your own system is tempting with the vision of a perfect fit, ready-made software (especially in the SaaS model) remains an extremely powerful choice. Besides the obvious benefit for companies that want to get started immediately, 'off-the-shelf' solutions are great for handling standard business processes. We're talking about accounting, HR, customer relationship management (CRM), or marketing—anywhere you're not reinventing the wheel.
Choosing SaaS is also an economic decision. In the initial phase, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is usually lower. You don't incur costs related to infrastructure, servers, monitoring, and hiring a DevOps team to maintain the application. You pay a flat subscription fee and get access to a tool that is continuously developed by the provider. For a small or medium-sized business, this is a huge saving of resources.
The real challenges of custom development
Tailor-made development promises a lot, but its implementation comes with costs that go beyond just writing code. The biggest challenge is full product ownership. Instead of a ready-made tool with a support team, you now have a system whose security, performance, and GDPR compliance are your responsibility (or your technology partner's). This requires organizational maturity and a clear product vision.
Another challenge is consistency and quality. In a ready-made SaaS, thousands of companies have already tested a given process. Building from scratch, you have to design, implement, and test every single feature yourself, which creates a risk of errors and delays. What is just one of many features in an 'off-the-shelf' product can be a multi-month project in a 'custom' system.
You can't forget about time. Where implementing SaaS is a matter of days or weeks (configuration), building a robust, custom application is a project that takes many months. If the market requires a quick response from you, Custom Development might be too slow.
Impact on team and time-to-market
The choice of software strategy has a direct impact on your team. Implementing a SaaS/COTS system often means the company must adapt its processes to the tool. This can create resistance among employees used to old methods, but it also often introduces industry best practices 'built-in' to the system.
Custom Development works the other way: the tool adapts to your processes. This allows you to preserve the company's unique know-how and build a real competitive advantage. However, such a project requires close cooperation between the business team and the developers. Your team is not just a user, but a co-creator of the tool, which drastically increases engagement but also requires resources.
Build vs. buy in FinTech and MarTech: our experience
At MQS, we have extensive experience in both approaches, especially in our key domains. In the FinTech industry, where unique processes, security, and regulatory compliance (e.g., financial supervision) are absolutely critical, Custom Development is often the only right choice. We build 'tailor-made' core-banking systems, lending platforms, or scoring logic because they form the heart of the client's business. At the same time, we integrate them with ready-made SaaS services for auxiliary tasks, e.g., identity verification (KYC/AML).
In MarTech, on the other hand, the market is dominated by powerful SaaS platforms (like HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, or dozens of analytics tools). Building your own CRM from scratch is pointless here. Our role is most often Custom Development in the area of integration. We build 'custom' connectors and Customer Data Platforms (CDP) that connect all these 'boxes' into one efficient ecosystem. We create the glue that allows for data flow and automation that the ready-made tools don't offer on their own.
So, what to choose? For standard business support processes (like HR, accounting, or basic CRM), a ready-made SaaS is almost always the faster and cheaper choice. For your core, unique processes that give you a market edge (e.g., a unique algorithm in FinTech), Custom Development is an investment that pays off.
At MQS, we don't push one solution. We start by understanding your business model and processes. We help you make an informed 'Build vs. Buy' decision that will support your success, not hinder it. Let's talk about your processes and find the approach that best fits your vision.